Combined folding and rigid ladder.



c. w. wHlTl-.- COMBINED FOLDI'NG AND RIGIDLADDER.

| ED 'MAYI 1 1,177,557. Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

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UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE a CHARLES w. WHITE, 0E EASI` ST. LOUIS,ILLINOIS.A

COMBINED vFOLDING AND :RIGID LADDER.

Speccation of Letters Patent. Patented 1131228, 1916.

Application led May 14, 1.915. Serial No. 28,198. i'

To all whom it mayconccrn v Y Be it known that I, CHARLES W. WHITE, acitizen of the United States, and resident of East St. Louis, Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined FoldingandrRigid Ladders, of which the following is a specification containinga full, clear, and exact description,

reference being had to the accompanying" drawings, forming a parthereof.

My invention relates to improvementsV in.

ladders, and the object of my invention is to construct a ladder of anumber of hinged sections whereby it may be folded to occupy a minimumof space when not in use, and to the end thatit may be carried to placesfor use where a nonefolding ladder could not Y suspended from anoverhead point; Fig.

Vis a perspective of the ladder, partly folded, and partly extended,they extended part having its sections locked; and Fig; 3 is a sectionalelevation of the hinge and lock.

Referring yby numerals to the accompanying drawings, 5 and G designatethe side pieces of the ladder, each of which comprises a number ofsections whose ends overlap and which overlapped ends are relativelyhinged upon rounds 7. Y Y

As shown in Fig. 3, the'ends 8 of the rounds are reduced to receive theoverlapped ends of the side pieces, which are coincidently perforatedwhereby to journal upon the reduced Vends of the rounds. The ends of therounds after receiving the sides are upset or riveted to hold the sidesin place:

By this arrangement the ladder comprises a series of sections each ofwhich consists vof a pair of side pieces anda round, and it is to beobserved` (see Fig, 2) that the side pieces of alternate sections havetheir ends occupying the iirst positions on thegournal .ends of the.rounds and `the ends of the re7 maining side pieces'- occupy the secondpositions on the journal ends. By this arrangement the sections willinterfold to occupy a minimum of space, thepside pieces forming twoindependent stacks. `Thatis, at each side of the ladder the alternateside pieces, when folded,interpose independently of the .remaining sidepieces. c

The side pieces at one end of the-ladder terminate in hooks 9, wherebythe ladder may be suspended for use, as forkfire escape purposes. Inthis instance the ladder may Abe folded when not used and by reason ofits compactness may be readily storedV at all times ready for instantuse'.

y 7o some conveniently accessible place and be atV4 i Inv my drawings Ihave shown the iireescapeas being secured in awindow with its hooksengaging the inner facing of a window frame, the bodies of the firstsection resting on the window sill and the'remaining sections hangingdown the side of a building, and leading to a place of safety, such as awindow below, as shown.

On one of thel ladder sections, the sidev pieces carry spacers 10 whichserve to hold the ladder from the wall of the building ing and. gripupon the rounds, which otherwise might so closely approach the wall asto render such footingandgrip extremely diiicult, and descent upon theladder more hazardous.

In Figs. 2 and 8 I show a means whereby the ladder sections may berelatively locked when suspended, whereby to afford a foot-V againsthinging, wherebyto make the ladder rigid so that it may be bodilyelevated to an overhead position and either suspended by its hooks orotherwise held, for ascension thereupon. These locking means consist ofa channel iron 11 Vcarried by each round and a nut threaded to eachround. This thread is preferablyV a fast thread and I have inbuildingtheladders exercised great Vcare in vthis thread cutting to insure freedomofY movement of thenut over the thread of the round, so that the nut mayspin7 from one position to another.

In the first and second sections of the ladder in Fig. 2, the lockingchannels are shown as embracing the overlapped ends of the side' piecesand the nuts brought to positions nioY When folded completely thespacers 10 engage the inner faces of the innermost side pieces and thehooks 9 engage the outer faces of the innermost side pieces and thus theladder is held true and the hooks are by preference made to bearinwardly against the remaining side pieces to frictionally hold theladder in a folded position.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new therein anddesire to seeurey by Letters Patent of the United States therefor., iS.1,

A ladder comprising rounds and Sectional side pieces whose` ends overlapand are piv-v otally secured to said rounds, means at the ends of saidrounds for preventing 'movement of the side pieces axially relative tothe rounds, a. channeled element pivotally carried by each round andfree to move longitudinally thereof, whereby it may be brought to engageor be free from said side pieces and a nut threaded to the round kforengagement with the channeled element.

-In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inpresence of two subscribing iwitnesses.v

Y CHARLES WV. WHITE Witnesses:

E. L. ALLACE, R. Gr. OnwIG.

Copies of this. Patent may' le obtains@ for five nts each, byaflfressins the Commissioner 0f Patents, Washington, D, C3"

